Apparently, Joseph Lubin believes Wall Street is on the verge of jumping into DeFi with both feet. I’m inclined to agree with his optimism — what does that optimism actually mean for the future of the metaverse? Does this mean that the flood of traditional finance cash will bring us a digital utopia? Or will it take us there, on the road to a virtual dystopia?

DeFi is coming; Metaverse will change

Imagine this: you're not just playing a game in the metaverse, you're working there. You make virtual weapons, you can make actual crypto. … or you can create digital apparel, or host your own slice of a digital universe! This isn't some far-off fantasy. When DeFi is combined with the metaverse, your in-game assets are liquid, tradable and valuable treasuries. Imagine it like a global, decentralized crypto-and NFT-powered gig economy.

Wall Street isn’t known exactly for its noble character. What do you think will happen when the same financial institutions that developed subprime mortgages and practiced predatory lending enter the metaverse? Next, they begin shilling virtual real estate and sophisticated DeFi products. Or, as it ought to be, will they choose innovation and empowerment? Will they merely reproduce the inequities of the physical world, creating a digital space that is largely inaccessible? Are we ready for that?

Digital Identity; Truly Decentralized

The main allure and motivation behind the metaverse isn’t pixelated avatars and first-person viewings. It's about creating a new kind of digital identity – one that's truly owned and controlled by the individual.

Third, blockchain technology enables users to break free from the centralized supervision of social media monopolies. This provides an opening to develop decentralized digital identities. Picture this—all of your data is under your direct ownership and you are able to actively control who has access and when. Now imagine easily moving your identity across various virtual spaces.

This dream is dependent on who owns and operates the underlying infrastructure. If Wall Street gets too involved they’ll try to seize control of this technology. That would result in a new set of walled gardens, potentially monopolizing your digital identity via financial services companies. There are many technical approaches to solving this, but mostly, I am concerned that the intention of decentralization will get sucked away.

Ethical Questions; Who Benefits Most?

We’ve already watched Strategy Inc. (formerly MicroStrategy) and Metaplanet acquire corporate treasuries of Bitcoin. Lubin, on a call to announce the investment, points to this as proof that Wall Street is beginning to understand the social change promised by crypto. Let's be real: these are companies buying Bitcoin, not individuals. What’s at stake when a handful of billion-dollar companies control the metaverse? They will have control over expansive swathes of virtual land, as well as thousands of other digital assets.

  • Scenario 1: Decentralized Dream. DeFi unlocks unprecedented economic opportunities for creators and users, fostering a vibrant and inclusive metaverse.
  • Scenario 2: Corporate Control. Wall Street firms dominate the metaverse, creating a new form of digital feudalism where ordinary users are exploited for profit.

Which scenario is more likely? That all depends on the choices we make today. We must demand transparency, accountability, and other ethical development practices from the companies developing the multiverse. Let’s defend solutions and policies that protect user privacy. To do this, we need to enforce meaningful diversity and end the accumulation of power in a small elite few.

The metaverse is not inevitable. It’s our future, and it’s not too late to make it better. We need to be more alert and better educated. So let’s be prepared to make the case for the metaverse we all want to see!

We can’t allow Wall Street to make the next digital frontier just an updated version of the old one. Let’s not allow the metaverse to be another rich person’s playground.

As we all step into the metaverse, its future is ultimately in our hands. The builders, the creators, and the users. Together, we can build a better future that is powered by truly decentralized digital identities. With a shared vision, we can expand economic opportunity to everyone and help the metaverse become a transformative force for good in our society.